Backfire
by ChEmMiE
Summary: "...outside the restaurant, the cold November air quickly assaulted them. Unable to prevent the goosebumps from appearing on her arms, Ziva couldn't really say no to the offered coat if she wanted to stay in character" - Slight spoilers for 'Broken Arrow'
1. Chapter 1

A/N:  
So, I came up with this idea way back when we first the spoilers about Ziva and Tony's father going on a date, but I never got around to actually writing it down until a few days ago (_before_ the promo...).  
As usual it didn't out at all like I'd had in mind, and it doesn't really have anything to do with how it's going to happen on the _real_ NCIS.

I realize it's completely OOC, but I DID write this down really fast one evening, which is also why there will likely be quite a few mistakes (since I didn't proof read or get it beta'd)...  
And I myself am not too happy with this (think it turned out really bad).. But figured I'd upload it anyways...

I hope you'll still enjoy it, though :D  
And I would be the HAPPIEST person alive if you'd leave me a review.. Good/bad, long/short, I don't care! :)

(And no, English is NOT my first language, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes...)

* * *

**Backfire**

Taking a sip of his coffee, Tony leaned back against his front row seat in MTAC. It was Friday night, and while he'd give up just about any plans he could have for a chance to see Ziva all dressed up and looking sexy for a date, this was the last thing he'd ever dreamed of doing.

Not even in his wildest and scariest nightmares had he ever imagined Ziva and his _father_. On a _date_.

Sure, in the back of his mind he knew it wasn't real, that they were just acting. That they were undercover. But just the thought of the two of them together made the bile rise in his throat, so he had to physically force himself to not tear his eyes away from the screen in front of him.

There were so many different emotions running through him that he wasn't even sure what he was currently feeling. He knew he had no right to feel so protective and possessive of his partner, but he couldn't help it, and it really didn't match with that somewhat kinky feeling he got whenever the two people on the screen got physical.

He'd given up attempting to _not_ get turned on by Ziva in that tight dress ages ago though, and that annoyed him even more. Yes, she was damn beautiful, there was no denying that, but she was his partner and his best friend, and seeing her like that with his father of all people should have the opposite effect.

"Running all the faces now, Gibbs."

"That's a good job, Abs. Go back to the overview of the entire restaurant." Tony let his eyes close for a few seconds in relief, both from knowing that Gibbs was seemingly as uncomfortable as himself but also from getting away from the view from his father's camera reading classes. Even with all the instructions they'd continuously given the older DiNozzo through the microphone, his gaze had mostly stayed glued to Ziva's chest, leaving her to catch a view of everyone in the restaurant with the camera stuck below her purple headband while keeping up her flirtatious cover.

Thinking back over the past week, Tony swallowed the rest of his coffee in one go to prevent a yawn. It all started when a marine daughter, just 18 years old, had been found strangled to death in a park, '_gold digger'_ engraved right above her bikini line.

After some research they'd discovered that there had been quite a few killings with the exact same MO throughout the East Coast and that the FBI was already working on the case. It seemed that someone had decided to kill females who dated men much older than themselves, men with lots of money. It appeared they even knew which group of people the killer watched, and it just so happened that Tony's own father was part of that social group.

So since the FBI, like always, was too incompetent to catch the killer, Gibbs had insisted they could have their own attempt at solving the case. And before Tony had had a chance to blink his partner was playing bait, going on a date with a man more than twice her age and acting like a complete bimbo, physically all over his father.

Oh, this was going to be a _very_ long night.

* * *

Picking up the glass of expensive red wine in front of her, Ziva twirled it around the glass for a few seconds before slowly sipping the wine, keeping her head low so she could look up at the man in front of her through her darkened eye lashes.

She hadn't expected to ever do this again, to use her looks and her body to this extend as she thought she was done with this type of undercover work by leaving Mossad, but it seemed she'd been mistaken.

Carefully placing the crystal glass back down on the table she accepted the piece of steak held out for her, closing her eyes as she leaning over the table to pull the food off the fork with her lips and moaning deeply before licking her lips and slowly reopening her eyes.

The sound of Tony sputtering out what was most likely his coffee in her ear wig caused a smirk to cross her lips, but looking at the older Tony in front of her she made sure it seemed as if it was directed towards him as to not blow their cover.

"Have I mentioned yet how astonishingly beautiful you look tonight, baby?" Leaning into the hand currently caressing her temple, Ziva let her own hand cover his bigger one as she placed a seducing kiss on his palm before running her fingers lovingly over his arm, letting them travel inside his sleeve.

"Only about every 5th minute, my love." Using her free hand to throw her long, straightened hair over her shoulder, she tilted her head in just the right way for the lines in her slender neck to stand out. "But you know I love it."

"Gosh, Ziva! This isn't a porn movie, so turn down the charm!" The loud smack from Gibbs' hand colliding with the back of Tony's head reverberated through the speakers in their ears and Ziva had to pluck a tomato from her salad into her mouth to prevent a giggle from escaping her throat.

Yes, she knew she was acting nothing like herself, but if they really were being watched, which was highly likely since most of the murdered women had been taken to this particular restaurant for a date shortly before their death, she had to be very convincing in wanting to seduce and act completely in love with the older man at the table.

And she'd never pass on a chance to mess with DiNozzo, especially since she was so experienced in this type of work that it didn't faze her the slightest, even if it was her partner's father.

"Well that's fortunate, cause I don't think I could stop admiring you even if I tried." Ziva just let out a throaty laugh as DiNozzo Sr. let his hand rest on her knee under the table, running it further up her leg than she'd felt comfortable with, but that wasn't something she'd ever let show.

She just cursed the fact that she was a better actor than her current undercover partner. It was obvious that he took her actions too personal, and not just for the acting that it really was. That he himself wasn't exactly acting his part.

* * *

"Oh God, boss. Please tell me we have enough. Abby, any hits yet?" The small peck his father had placed on the beautiful ex-Israeli's cheekbone would cause Tony just as many nightmares as the soft, lingering kiss Ziva had applied to his lips. Of course, Tony could just be imagining things, something he desperately hoped was the case when Ziva's hand seemed to visibly travel way too close to that one place he really didn't want it to go.

Damn her for knowing exactly how to pull this off! And then acting so casual about it...

"Well, a few people showed up in different data bases, some with criminal records, but so far we haven't found anything on any of them that seem suspicious or like a cause for murdering these women. We'll of course dig deeper, but nothing screams 'killer' on any of these people. Neither the staff nor the guests. So if they're there, trust me, they'll have noticed Ziva and your father by now, cause.. I mean... I think it's fairly obvious that like _every single guy_ and most of the _women_ in that room has been staring in that direction at least, like, 10 times."

"I get it, Abby. I get it! Please, boss?" He gave his boss his best puppy face, and having studied his mentor's reactions throughout the dinner, he knew Gibbs felt uneasy about the situation as well. Although he suspected it was also partially due to the case, and not just purely from seeing his partner and his father so affectionate with each other as was his own case. But he also knew that that had a big impact on the older mad as well, as he obviously didn't like or trust the older DiNozzo and Ziva meant much more to him than just a college. A part of his family, like the rest of their team.

But at least Gibbs kept in mind that Ziva was a professional at what she was doing.

Sending a quick look towards the computers where McGee and Abby were running all different kinds of searches, Gibbs returned his focus to the 4 different camera angles on the MTAC screen.

"Nice job, Ziva. There's nothing more to do in there, so if you're done eating, head out." Gibbs knew both of them were able to hear them, but he still found it awkward addressing the older DiNozzo in the same sentence, so he stuck to just communicating to Ziva whenever he could get away with it.

"And keep up the pretense till you return to the house. We're counting on the killer following you and attempting to strike tomorrow." The last instructions were meant mostly for DiNozzo Sr, as they all knew Ziva would know how to handle a mission such as this, and Gibbs wanted to be sure he remembered his few 'scripted' lines.

Sending his senior field agent a quick glance he received a grateful smile, one he automatically returned before return to the screen and his ever present coffee cup. While they both felt incredibly relieved that they could end this awkward dinner, at least awkward for those watching, they knew it was still far from over.

They were hoping that the killer had seen them, and that he or she would follow them when they left. It seemed that all the other killings had happened as soon as the woman was on her own and easy to get to. So Ziva and Anthony DiNozzo Sr were spending the night together in DiNozzo's fake mansion in the hopes that it would be enough to draw the killer out.

Whoever it was had been stupid enough to leave a finger print on one of the bodies, one that wasn't in any database, so if they caught the person just observing the house rather than actually attempting anything with Ziva, they'd still have enough evidence to convict him or her.

* * *

Getting the welcomed signal that they were okay to leave, Ziva made a big deal out of sighing as she leaned back in her chair.

"I am stuffed, my love." She swung her hair through over her shoulder as she let her hand run over the wide, smooth, dark purple silk ribbon that was tied around the waist of her blood red silk dress.

"You want some dessert, gorgeous?" She felt like puking at some of those pet names, but forced herself to look flattered in stead.

"Well," Leaning back over the table she carefully traces the slight stubble on his chin, a fake pout adorning her face. "Since you will be gone on meetings all day tomorrow," Changing her pout into a a seducing smile, Ziva let her foot slip out of her stiletto to trace her toes up his leg under his pants while letting her index finger travel over the curve of his lips. "I had some... _different_ type of dessert on mind." The obvious grin on his face spoke volumes, and Ziva knew it was a good thing she'd mentioned him being gone the following day, cause he'd obviously forget to voice that detail himself.

"Have I ever mentioned that you're just as smart as you are hot?" When her only reply was a very inviting smirk, DiNozzo Sr absentmindedly threw a hand in the air. "Waiter!" For the few minutes it took for the waiter to run DiNozzo's credit card through, the two people just stared at each other and acting completely stuck in some sexual fantasy, at least on Ziva's part, who was busy biting her index finger.

"Let me, beautiful!" Following the older man with appreciative eyes as he walked around the table, Ziva let him pull out her chair for her and pull her p by her hand. She then placed the shiny silver purse in the crook of her elbow before rising up on her toes to place a soft kiss on his lips as her way of saying thanks.

Even though she wanted to she didn't protest when he placed his arm around her waist to pull her close to his side, his hand quickly traveling down to grab her ass as he let her towards the restaurant's exit, completely aware on how everyone were staring at them.

Knowing she'd have to play along, Ziva copied his motion and gave his butt a quick squeeze before returning her arm to her side, letting him steer her out as if she was some sort of accessory. But of course, that _was _her cover.

"You cold, babe?" Stepping just outside the door of the restaurant, the cold November air quickly assaulted them. Unable to prevent the goosebumps from appearing on her arms, Ziva couldn't really say no to the offered coat if she wanted to stay in character. So when the much too big coat was placed on her bare shoulders, Ziva once more leaned up to place a kiss on his lips, knowing that they might still, and likely _were_ being watched. However, the hand placed on the back of her head forced the kiss to last much longer than she would have liked, but not wanting it to look suspicious, Ziva forced herself to bring her hand to his hair while holding on to the coat with the other.

"Tony..." The word didn't come out as more than a mumble as her lips were still pressed against his. Wanting to get out of his hold without giving anything away, Ziva let her hand travel to his chest where she grabbed his shirt into a fist, attempting to softly push him away.

"You taste amazing, baby!" Trying to mentally rethink how much her current counterpart had been drinking distracted Ziva enough for him to allow his hands to roam down her upper body and push her up against the brick wall.

"How about continuing this at home?" When the only reply she got was two hands gripping her hips firmly and a mouth her neck, leaving wet traces behind, she really had to force herself to let out a giggle since she knew they had an audience.

She was very well aware of the coughs and the questions coming through her earwig, but the hand traveling up her body to rest on her breast had her mind too occupied to make out exactly was was being said. She didn't have a chance to protest when DiNozzo Sr. used his other hand, still by her hip, to lift her leg up and placed it around his hip so he could step even closer to her because he at the same time returned his mouth to hers, this time desperately trying to add his tongue to the kiss.

"To..." She wanted to tell him to release her, but her plan backfired as he used her open mouth as an opportunity to slip in his tongue. By now the sounds and voices in her ear were just a big blur, and even if she tried to decipher them she wouldn't have any luck.

Forcing herself to join in on the kiss for a few seconds she let her hands move up along his arms and his neck to the back of DiNozzo Sr.'s head where she grabbed his hair, trying to pull him away from her face while keeping up the illusion that she was just as into this as he was. A hand suddenly traveling up the inside of her leg beneath the knee length dress caused her to let out a gasp, but instead of taking the hint and releasing her, the poking on Ziva's thigh told her exactly how his body was reacting.

"Stop..." Her voice was ragged and sounding out of breath, but while it was caused by the was starting to rise in Ziva, she suspected he would understand it differently, something that was equally good and bad since they wanted it to look that way for those watching, but unfortunately DiNozzo Sr. seemed to forget that this wasn't real.

"But we're just getting to the good part, baby." His mouth returned to sucking its way down her neck as his hand came to rest between her legs, his fingers never seizing movement or letting her underwear stop them from reaching their intended destination, which caused a gasp to escape her throat as if she'd gotten punched in the stomach. But as she'd feared, DiNozzo Sr. understood it all wrong and took is as an invitation to continue.

"Let's move this back to your bed." Again her voice wavered and broke for different reasons than being turned on, and Ziva had to fight not to push him off of her or seriously injure him

"I didn't think you had a problem with some PDA. At least I don't." Ziva just closed her eyes and leaned her head back to prevent herself from crying out as his hands continued to roam her body.

* * *

"McGee! Get me a better view!"

"I don't know, boss. There doesn't seem to b..."

"Got it, bringing it up!" Before Abby had even finished her sentence, the view of the darkened parking lot appeared on the screen instead of that from Ziva and Tony's cameras. The forensics scientist had hacked into a public security camera which showed the entire parking lot in front of the restaurant, currently populated by quite a few people besides from the NCIS agent and her 'date'.

"Make 'em stop, boss!" Having to watch the scene unfold in front of him was bad enough, but hearing Ziva's continuously murmured _stops_ and _not here's_ and _not now's _and _please_ and _Tony's_ was just too much to bear. Sure, for anyone else it might seem like just a heated, a _really heated_ make out scene with two people getting very physical with each other, but it was obvious to everyone in the room, those who knew Ziva really well that she was serious, and she sounded so very close to panicking.

"DiNozzo! Drop it! Return to the house!" They'd been trying to get through to the 'couple' for what felt like ages to Tony, but they had yet to respond to anything that was being said.

"Why isn't Ziva stopping him? She should be more than able to push him away!" Gibbs barely spared his desperate senior field agent a glance before his eyes returned to practically burning a hole on the big screen with his hard glare when Ziva attempted to conceal a whimper as a moan. No one commented on what took place in their own room when Tony fell to his knees in the corner, emptying his stomach contents at the sound of his father eliciting those sounds from his partner.

"Dammit, Ziva, just abort the mission!" Gibbs knew it might be highly unprofessional, but while the mission was of extreme importance, it wasn't worth his agent being traumatized because she refused to slip up. She didn't seem to hear him though, just like all the other times they'd tried to communicate, and somehow it didn't surprise Gibbs.

It wasn't until multiple agonizing minutes with lots of unanswered demands through the microphone later that their movements on the screen seemed to halt.

Ziva's body shook almost undetectably to the trained eye as she leaned up to place a kiss on the much older man's cheek, never letting go of his hand in the process.

"Come on, my love. We have much to finish at home." While her voice was back to that playful, seducing tone as she threw her hair over her shoulder and started walking towards the street to hail a cab, her hips swaying with every step, the people in MTAC knew she was very shaken up, but like usual Ziva would rather die than admit to that.

Ripping the microphone off his head, Gibbs threw it through the room the second they'd entered the cab, making it crash against the wall before almost running up the stairs. He needed coffee.

* * *

Anthony DiNozzo Sr. had barely entered the downtown office currently borrowed by NCIS before his son slammed him up against the wall, his arm firmly secured over the older man's chest so he couldn't easily escape.

"You _idiot_!" The baffled look on his face was enough to make Tony give him a hard shove before taking a step back, his eyes burning with rage.

"Nice to see you too, Junior..."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" When DiNozzo Sr. just raised his eyebrow, strolling past Tony so could plunge down in one of the chairs, the NCIS agent made fists out of his hands to prevent himself from hitting something.

"You almost cost us this entire mission, jeopardized everything because you're too horny to follow the instructions." The smirk appearing on his father's face and the glint in his eyes made Tony want to shoot him. Or puke. He wasn't sure. "You were ordered to _stop_!"

"Come on, Junior, we were having fun!" The big smile he offered his son showed just how clueless he was about the whole thing.

"_Fun_?"

"Yeah, and it was about to get much hotter if you guys hadn't ordered her to stop." Even through his burning rage Tony couldn't miss the big mark on his father's hand when he held it up, and suddenly the hand holding from the day before made sense, as it seemed Ziva had had to retort to pressure points to get away without seeming conspicuous.

"We didn't order her to stop, we ordered _you_ to stop! And so did she!" DiNozzo Sr. crossed his hands in front of him and let them rest on his stomach as he leaned back in his chair.

"Sure seemed like she wanted it to me..."

"Well she _didn't_!" The loud smack from Tony slamming his hands on the table didn't seem to faze his father at all, and for a few moments they just stared at each other.

"But can you blame me? It's not _my fault_ she's such a tease!"

"A _tease?_!" Tony was completely dumbfounded. Hadn't his father understood a single thing about this mission? "She was doing her _job_, dad. Something which didn't entail almost having _sex_ in the parking lot!"

"Well if she wanted me to stop that badly she could've just told me or pushed me away."

"She _did_!" His father's confused look just caused Tony to become even more furious.

"Didn't sound very serious, then." Taking a deep breath, Tony forced himself not to explode when his father shrugged his shoulders.

"Of course not, because she's too professional to just blow her cover like that!" It wasn't until the words had left his mouth that Tony realized he was almost angry at _Ziva_. If she had cared jut a bit more about herself rather than the case they likely wouldn't have ended up in this mess.

"Well if she's so professional then shouldn't she be able to handle a bit physical contact without it being the end of the world?" Had this been 2 years ago, Tony knew his partner wouldn't have even blinked at how things turned out the evening before. But it wasn't.

"Not after what she's been through!" Realizing too late that he'd said more than he should, Tony turned around and stormed out of the room. He'd barely even reached the end of the hallway before the ringing of his phone interrupted his internal cursing.

"_What?_"

"Caught he guy." Hiss boss' calm voice was enough to make him halt his movement completely.

"Ziva?..."

"..Is fine. Kicked the guy's ass before we'd even raided the house." A relieved sigh escaped Tony's throat as he let himself collapse against the wall. "Get your dad and bring him back here so we can debrief." He didn't even have to hear the dial tone to know that Gibbs had hung up. He had simply worked with him for too long not to know how he worked.

Groaning, Tony pushed himself away from the wall, reluctantly moving back to where he'd just left his father.

* * *

A/N 2:  
If anyone has a better idea for a title, let me know, cause they're NOT my strong side...

And I realize this _could_ be made longer... but I figured I'd leave it as a oneshot for now :)

- On a side note, don't forget to catch Jackie Evancho on the 'Today Show' (NBC) November 9th, 'the View' November 15th (ABC) or buy her CD when it gets released November 16th... And of course, the lightening of the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**I got a message from Cookie-Stories earlier today, asking if I was ever going to continue this, so I went back to take another look at the file on my computer and realized I had quite a bit more written! I wrote this way back when I posted the first chapter, but I got stuck, and never went further than this... I never posted it, cause it seemed much too short too be a real chapter, and a section is obviously missing in the end (it stops kind of abruptly)...**  
**But I figured that I'd try to post it anyways before attempting to add more on to it, just to see if anyone are even still interested in in this story at all! (So if you want me to continue it, please let me know in a review... cause otherwise I doubt I'll find the will/imagination to do so considering how long it's been...)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

The second the doors of the elevator opened to reveal the squad room, Tony hurried out of the small metal box not caring whether his father could keep up with him or not. And in truth, he was hoping that his older namesake would somehow get lost between the elevator and the bullpen.

"We're here. Let's get this over with." He didn't care that he sounded angry when he strode determined towards his desk. He was in a really crappy mood and all he wanted was for his father to get as far away as possible. And while he sort of wanted to get a moment alone with Ziva, he wasn't sure if he could handle it. After what he'd witnessed the evening before he wasn't sure how he was going to react, or how he _should_ act around her, especially if they were alone.

Forcefully throwing his gun into the open upper drawer, Tony allowed himself to look across the bullpen to the desk opposite his own, letting his eyes settle on his partner for the first time since she'd entered a cab on the security footage the night before.

She hadn't even looked up when the two DiNozzos had entered, just continued staring at her computer screen, seemingly very engrossed in her work. While she'd pass off as completely calm to the majority of people, Tony instantly saw how tense she was, as if it was a physical presence in the room. Her back was too straight even for Ziva standards, something Tony hadn't ever thought possible, her fingers' movements seemed too controlled, her jaw too tight, every line on her neck protruding through her skin.

And even with the NCIS sweat clothes she was wearing two huge hickeys were visible on the left side of her neck. One just below her ear and the other right on the collarbone where her neck met her shoulder. Knowing how she had gained them hurt Tony more than he'd thought possible.

"Director's office." While Ziva instantly closed down whatever she was doing on her computer to follow Gibbs and DiNozzo Sr. upstairs where Tony suspected everyone else involved in the case were already present, he found himself unable to move away from his spot next to his own desk as he followed Ziva's retrieving form with his eyes. It wasn't until they were all well on their way up the stairs that Tony pushed himself away from his desk, following them with a much less determined stride.

He hated it when Ziva purposefully avoided him.

"Glad you could join us, agent DiNozzo." When he entered Vance's office he quickly sat down in the only available seat, which was also as far away as he could possibly get from Ziva, who had strategically placed herself between Gibbs and an FBI agent.

Throughout most of the debriefing Tony remained silent, only participating when he was spoken to directly. He didn't care for any of the details surrounding their early investigations, and he purposefully tried to shut out the conversation completely when they went over the previous day's part of the mission with the FBI. He wasn't sure whether he was ecstatic or pissed that no one mentioned how it had actually turned out, but he figured, he hoped, that they only disregarded it officially and Vance and Gibbs would personally deal with the situation later on. Because if there was one thing DiNozzo was certain of, it was that his _father_ shouldn't be able to get away with something like _that_ especially not if he had a say in it.

So while the others were all busy discussing the case, Tony's entire attention had been focused solely on his partner, who never once took her eyes off the director or the papers and evidence reports presented to them. While it unnerved him how unusually quiet she was and how it seemed she tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible, he took a little solace in the fact that she seemed to be avoiding everyone, and not just him. Not in the physical sense, and she answered when people asked her something, but she refused to make eye contact with anyone or react when they were looking at her. Though she did seem to squirm slightly whenever his father's gaze lingers on her for more than just a few seconds at a time, that tiny smirk never leaving his face.

Tony paid slightly more attention when they talked about how they actually caught the guy, while still not taking his eyes off of Ziva. He knew they'd be using Ziva as bait, but he still didn't like hearing about how they had her pretend to be asleep on the couch in the living room with the TV on so loud that she supposedly wouldn't hear anyone enter. This was of course designed so that their murderer could easily access the room, which is also why they'd used a house where the entire side of the living room was made of glass, so the killer could see her being 'asleep'.

And of course she'd conveniently opened a door to backyard to get some fresh air after DiNozzo Sr. left before accidentally falling asleep.

The killer hadn't even known what hit him. He'd barely even managed to sit down on top of her, about to place his hands on her throat to strangle her when he'd found himself lying face down on the floor with his arm twisted painfully behind his back and surrounded by feds. And because Ziva had still been itchy from the day before, something that wasn't said out loud but her team knew because she could've easily taken him down without it, the killer had also suffered a broken nose, a shiner and a knee to the groin somewhere in between the couch and the floor.

Tony couldn't suppress a tiny smile at the thought of ass-kicking Ziva, so different from what he'd seen the day before, and so much more believable and likeable. But while Ziva didn't even react to or acknowledge it when they went over _this_, Tony knew that if she hadn't been allowed to release some of her anger on the killer that morning she'd have been even more tense than she was at the moment.

It appeared that in the very short time Tony and his father had been gone they'd not only managed to catch the guy, but Gibbs had even gotten him to confess to everything in a matter of minutes. The fact that they hadn't allowed him any treatment or pain relief for his Ziva-sustained injuries until after the interrogation likely hadn't hurt either.

"I think that covers it all. Thanks for your time." When they all got up to leave, some much faster than others, Vance just had to let out a cough to get everyone's attention to return to him. "Gibbs, DiNozzo, if you wouldn't mind staying for a bit?" When Tony looked questionably towards the director, Vance just shook his head to let Tony know he was referring to his father. "The rest of you, go home. Enjoy your weekend and be back at 07:00 Monday morning."

Ziva just gave a curt nod like the perfect officer she'd been raised to be before following a squealing Abby and McGee out of the office. Sending a grateful look to his boss, Tony sped out of the room so he could catch up with his partner on the stairs. He really didn't know how to handle this serious and closed-off Ziva, so he figured the best thing to do was to just act like nothing for the time being, hoping that it would be easier for Ziva if he fell into his normal character.

"Off work before noon on a Friday. Can you believe it?" While it wasn't very sincere, Tony offered her a huge grin, hoping he'd manage to loosen her up a bit. She finally looked at him, and while it was only a sideways glance the tiny smile she offered him was enough for his own to grow, even though hers had obviously been faked.

"What do you say? Wanna go grab lunch somewhere?"

"Tony..." She let out a deep sigh as she returned to her desk and started turning off her computer, once again refusing to meet his eyes.

"Come on, Ziva! We need to celebrate." Truthfully he wasn't in the mood to celebrate himself, but he didn't know what else to say to her and he felt that he couldn't just let her leave on her own. Girl might be a crazy ninja chick, but he'd learned long ago that even _this_ ninja had a lot of emotions bottled up inside of her, and this situation was more than enough to get him concerned.

"I just want to go home." Throwing her backpack over her shoulder and leaving her cubicle, she didn't even offer him a look as she set off towards the elevator.

"At least come to my place, then. We'll have a movie marathon." He practically had to run to keep up with her fast paced strides. "I'll even let _you_ choose the movies as long as we _don't_ have to re-watch that new Halloween movie. Worst remake ever!" He leaned up against the wall as Ziva pressed the button, trying unsuccessfully to catch her eyes.

"I said _no_, Tony. I _just_ want to go home and _sleep_." He didn't move from his spot when the elevator arrived and she stepped into the metal box, couldn't move, but the split second she looked at him before the doors slid closed between them was enough for him to see just how exhausted she looked, and at that moment he felt like beating himself up for not having noticed earlier.

What a great partner he was, huh? He hadn't taken his eyes off of Ziva at any time and still hadn't noticed something so vital. No wonder Ziva didn't want to talk to him.

* * *

When Ziva opened her front door hours later, still clad in her NCIS sweats and looking like she'd just been pulled out of bed, she didn't seem at all surprised to see him.

"What are you doing here, Tony?" Rubbing the palm of her hand against her eye her voice was rough with sleep and her accent much stronger than usual, and Tony knew his banging on the door most likely hadn't managed to wake her up until the 3rd try. Not that Ziva could ever sleep through something like that, no matter how exhausted she was, but she'd most likely managed to shut out the sound at first when knowing who it was.

"Brought your favorite ice cream." He held up the white Wall-Mart bag for her to see, but Ziva settled for just sighing deeply and never taking her eyes away from Tony as she leaned up against the door frame.

"Why do I have feeling that I cannot get you to leave?"

"Because you're Ziva, and you know me too well." Closing her eyes, Ziva let her head fell back against the wall as she kicked the door further open for Tony to enter. She waited until he was far into her apartment before letting out a deep breath, carefully closing and double locking the door behind her. By the time she entered the kitchen Tony was already filling the ice cream into two bowls, offering Ziva a dazzling smile as he handed her one of them.

"If I eat this, will you leave?" While the way she acted worried Tony, it being too compliant and so un-Ziva-like, he knew that she only let him see this side of her because she on some level trusted him. Because she knew he wouldn't fall for her _I'm__fine_ crap, so she couldn't even be bothered to hide her displeasure.

"Not until we watch this!" He held up a copy of '_Phoebe__in__Wonderland'_, deliberately having chosen a movie that had nothing to do with sex or evil people.

"Tony, what part of _I__am__tired_ do you not get?"

"Why is that anyways?" Scrunching her eyebrows together, Ziva seemed to be thinking about his question for quite a while as she tilted her head slightly.

"Because I had to sleep in the same bed as your father in case we were being watched." With the way she said it Tony wasn't sure whether it sounded most like a question or a statement of the obvious, but he still understood her perfectly. Of course she wouldn't have been comfortable going to sleep, she'd probably had to avoid Senior's wandering hands and touches all night, even while said man was asleep himself.

"What! No comments about how _busy_ I must have been all night?" Her words felt like a slap to the face. No – more like a brick to the side of his head, and Tony was left standing dumbfounded in the kitchen as Ziva disappeared into the living room with the chocolate chip mint ice cream she'd taken from his hand. She couldn't seriously think he thought she'd enjoyed what happened the day before, could she?

He found her in the living room a few minutes later, curled as far into the corner of the couch as possible with her knees pulled tightly against her upper body and the bowl of ice cream lying idle in her hands, still untouched.

"Do you really think that little of me, Ziva? You think I'm _that_ insensitive?" He'd stopped in the doorway, watching her still form for multiple minutes before he'd spoken. Took in the way her loose, still mostly straight hair shielded her face completely, making it obvious she hadn't yet taken a shower. Took in how her back was stubbornly straight, but her head was hanging defeated.

When Ziva just shrugged her shoulders as an answer to his question, Tony took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before making his way towards the middle of the room where he sat down on the table right in front of his partner.

"Ziva?" When she didn't react he gently took the bowl out of her hands and put it on the table next to his own. Placing three fingers under her chin he moved her head so she was looking at him, even though she kept avoiding his eyes. "He sexually assaulted you." She visibly squirmed, but Tony knew he had to be direct if he wanted to get through to her. She managed to pull herself out of his grip, but she had nowhere to go but sink further into the couch, allowing her back to slump just slightly. "_I_thought he was gonna _rape_ you, so don't you dare tell me this doesn't affect you!"

"That is the thing, Tony. It should _not_!" For the first time today she seemed just a little bit like herself, placing her feet on the ground as her voice rose determined.

"He molested you, Ziva! So of course it does!"

"I guess it just means I really _have_ gone soft, then." Her voice was so full of self-disgust when she stood up from the couch, pushing her way past a stunned Tony. But before she'd made it halfway across the room he grabbed her arm, turning her around so she was facing him without releasing the firm grip on her arm.

"Would you listen to yourself?" Ziva's perception of the event equally angered and disgusted him. Couldn't she allow herself to be human just once? "This isn't about acting tough, Ziva. No one would ever think less of you for feeling something, _anything,_ about what happened!"

"I am over it!" The fire in her eyes was almost enough to make Tony take a step backwards. _Almost_. But while Ziva sounded completely convinced of what she was saying, Tony wasn't so sure.

"Yeah, right!" For the tiniest split second Tony saw something resembling hurt flashing through her dark eyes before getting replaced by a determined rage. She pulled her arm free from Tony's grip, staring daggers at him.

"Well if you distrust me so much then why the hell are you here?" Pushing him out of her way, Ziva stormed into her kitchen, hurriedly pressing his things against his chest when he followed her in there before continuing on to the front door. But before she could open it Tony forcefully placed a hand on the door, making Ziva freeze with her back still turned towards him.

"How can I _not_ doubt you, huh? We both know you always downplay everything, that you refuse to show your feelings. And with the way you've been acting today? Tell me, Ziva," Once more grabbing her upper arm with his free hand, too worked up to bother whether it left a mark, he vigorously spun her towards him. "Would _you_ trust you?"

"Well I'm telling the truth _now_, so if yo..."

"Then why don't you act it?" This time when the hurt flashed through her eyes she didn't bother shoving it away instantly; instead she just stared at her partner with those big, wide eyes. "Why don't you act _fine_?"

"Leave." For a moment he actually contemplated it, not able to stand her looking so broken, but he knew he couldn't let her win that easily so he settled for just raising his eyebrow indignantly. It seemed to do the trick as Ziva violently pulled her arm out of his grip, taking a step back until she hit the wall.

"Fine! I am humiliated, okay? I am angry! Is that what you want to hear?" Frozen to his spot, Tony was sure he saw tears glistering in her eyes, but for his own safety he chose to ignore it for the time being. "I do not care about what happened, only that I let it affect me at the time. It _should__not_ have! I should not have _let__it_!" Not able to just stand by and watch her break down, Tony reached out for her, wanting to give her some much needed support.

"Ziva..."

"No!" She pushed his arm away before it'd even reached her shoulder. "It was unprofessional! I failed! What am I good for if I cannot even do what I was _bread__for_ without losing every sense of control? I am _weak_, Tony. _Weak_!" For what felt like hours, Tony could do nothing but stare at her as she was panting slightly, her eyes red and glassy from holding back so many emotions and tears. He couldn't even properly process everything she'd said because he felt more and more nauseated by each statement that had rapidly left her mouth.

"That is ridiculous, Ziva." He'd never had to deal with an emotional Ziva before, so since he didn't know how he should react, the words had left his mouth before he was able to stop them. It was the arrogant tone that really surprised the both of them, though. While Ziva's anger and hurt instantly seemed to evaporate and her features returned to their usual cool, guarded composure, even her eyes losing their fire, Tony just wanted to bang his head into the wall. Could he have said anything more stupid? The one time Ziva actually opens up and lets him in on her emotions, and he fucks up.

"Whatever, Tony. Now may I go back to bed?" There was absolutely no emotion present in her voice. Tony opened his mouth, wanting to protest, but she didn't give him a chance. "Thanks." She didn't even spare him a glance as she walked away from him towards her bedroom, nor did she even seem to care whether he stayed or left. So waiting until he heard the door to her bedroom slam, Tony groaned as he made his way to her living room.

Picking up the discarded ice cream, Tony fell back into the couch. He'd steal her TV until she woke up and dared face him again.

* * *

**Well, let me know what you think! Should I try to continue this or not?**

**And thanks for reading! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

I know! I said I would try to update fast... :/

But then Christmas was here, with everyone coming to stay in our (small) house...

And then I went to Las Vegas between Christmas and New Years to go to the JACKIE EVANCHO and David Foster concert at Mandalay Bay (and OMG! Still seems completely surreal! Just simply AMAZING! And she's such a nice kid!) - Still on a complete concert/backstage high!  
(Okay... to stop myself from rambling on about that, I'll continue my AN AFTER the update!)

Anyways, this chapter ends... not abruptly exactly... but not sure if it should be comtinued after this? depends on you guys, I guess...

And I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter... Never planned on what I was writing, and since it's been written pretty much as just a few sentences every once in a while, it might not exactly be very well connected... (So please, feel free to leave me good AND bad critique!)

ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Even before Ziva opened her eyes she felt the extra presence in her room, so while she wasn't at all surprised to find Tony perched on the edge of her bed, she hadn't expected him to look so concerned.

"Tony." Pushing herself up she leaned back against the headboard, making sure the duvet was still covering her even though she was fully dressed. "How long have you been sitting there?" She hadn't exactly expected him to leave, but she'd thought he at least had the decency to stay out of her room.

"Long enough to know you were having a nightmare."

"I was not." She answered too quickly for his liking, sounding almost desperate. When the only answer he gave her was a raised eyebrow, a tiny gleam appeared in her eye as she seemed to have come up with that perfect retort to get him to back off. "If I was you would have woken me up. Or at least tried to until I had shot you in my sleep."

Tony just held up his hands in mock surrender, knowing that she was partly right. Yes, he definitely would have woken her up if she'd been tossing and turning and screaming, but this had been different. While she had barely moved she had still been covered in a thin sheet of sweat, her hands tightly gripping her duvet and the bed sheets as a tortured expression had settled on her face.

"Well as far as I know you usually snore rather than whimper in your sleep." It hadn't been much, but just one tiny almost undetectable whimper had been enough to draw him to the bedroom. This time Ziva actually looked confused, almost too stunned to reply.

"I whimpered?" Tony was taken aback by how truly surprised her tone sounded. She really didn't know, and Tony wasn't sure whether she seemed more scared or humiliated by the fact, so he wisely chose not to dive further into the subject.

"You have these nightmares often?" She quickly looked away from him, but Tony took it as a good sign that she didn't bolt from the room.

"I do not have nightmares, Tony."

"Then what was this?" He kept his voice as low and soft as hers, not wanting to start yet another argument. When Ziva looked back towards him her eyes were guarded, but while not nearly as much as he'd expected, it was still obvious that she wasn't going to answer him. "What was it about?"

"I do not know." Her tone was soft so Tony figured it would be safe to raise an eyebrow questioningly. "I never do, and as far as I know you tend to remember a nightmare."

"Unless you subconsciously suppress them." Tony knew it had been the wrong thing to say when Ziva instantly pulled back, the usual guarded mask back in place but with an angry gleam in her dark eyes.

"And just _when_ exactly did you become my psychiatrist, DiNozzo?" Before she even allowed him to consider her question she was out of the bed, briskly leaving the room. When Tony found her in the kitchen a few seconds later she was gulping down a bottle of water, not placing it back on the table until it was completely empty. But he figured the not-nightmare had left her pretty dehydrated. Either that or she was just trying to stall, maybe even calm her nerves.

"Stop hiding, Ziva." With her back still towards him Tony instantly noticed her shoulders tensed, but knew better than to think she hadn't noticed him behind her.

"Yeah, because you are _clearly_ one to speak, Tony!"

"Okay, I'll admit it. I have a lot of baggage." Knowing she wouldn't actually harm him, but still being careful, he made his way towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder to spin her towards him. "But this isn't about me." For a while she stayed completely still, neither of them saying anything until her eyes hardened, her perfect emotionless mask back in place.

"I would like for you to leave now."

"No." Her mask barely faltered at his stern tone, and to anyone who didn't know her as well as the man in front of her the tiny slip would have been unnoticeable. Raising an eyebrow she let her head tilt slightly to the side, looking him straight in the eyes. "_You_ might think you're perfectly fine, but I'm far from convinced, and I'm not leaving until I'm sure you're..." He trailed off as her eyes flickered slightly before she turned her head away from him, but he wasn't sure if it was from her reaction to his words or because he himself didn't know what he was going to say. Until he was sure she was what? That she really _was_ fine? That she wasn't slipping into some kind of self-loathing depression and he'd find her with a self-inflicted bullet wound to her head?

He had no reason to believe she'd react like that, she hadn't given any indicators that something like that was going to happen. It was like all just some irrational fear from his side after seeing the scene unfold the evening before on the screen in MTAC, but he couldn't help it. Ziva was the toughest person he knew, she was like a ninja, and despite him knowing just how human she was, that she had just as many emotions as every one else, it hurt him so much to see her like this.

And the fact that it was his_ father_ of all people that had caused this didn't help at all.

"Do not worry, Tony. I was taught a very long time ago not to let sex mean anything." It wasn't so much the fact that once again Ziva knew exactly what the culprit of his concern was that stunned Tony into silence, rather it was the words she'd said and the completely neutral, detached tone they'd been uttered in. It wasn't until she'd walked past him, well on her way back towards her bedroom before he managed to to shake himself out of his shock.

"Wait, what?" He knew he sounded stupid, confused, but he honestly wasn't sure what to make of her words. It didn't surprise him that she completely ignored him.

"You can go now, Tony. I'll see you on Monday."

"No." He hurried after her, just barely preventing her bedroom door from slamming in his face. "I already told you, I'm not leaving until you talk to me."

"And _I_ already told you not to worry." She pulled her duvet aside, but rather than getting in she spun around and raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not feeling comfortable with going to bed with him still in the room.

"Except all you accomplished was making me worry more." She looked very taken aback, and it took Tony a few seconds to realize why. Being open like that, admitting something that personal, it was not something they did. He never once took his eyes off of her, and he wasn't sure whether it was a good or a bad sign that she seemed too stunned to reply, to react in any way at all. "Talk to me, Ziva." His soft words successfully pulled her out of her trance, and she turned away from him as he carefully made his way towards her. "What was that about in the kitchen before?"

She sighed, and that was why he'd brought it back up. Because she'd obviously meant it when she'd said it before, and the fact that she'd used it as her reason for being fine proved that it was at least somewhat relevant.

"Like I said before, it does not mean anything, so it..."  
"That's a load of crap, Ziva!" He was happy, more than happy that she'd said anything at all, but he also suspected that it was just to make him satisfied enough to leave. "No matter how good you are at shutting down emotions and feeling, that shouldn't be possible. I'm not stupid, Ziva, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened in Somalia." He was right behind her when she spun back towards him, eyes burning with anger. "Not feeling anything wouldn't be human."

"Well I guess I'm not human, then." At first he was about to roll his eyes or snort at her or tell her how ridiculous of a claim that was, but the look in her eyes stopped him. Along with the tiny amount of hurt, which was mostly covered up by pure fury, something in her dark eyes told him that she really believed it.

"Ziva..."  
"Just go, Tony." He clenched his fists hanging by his sides, trying desperately to keep his calm and not yell at her. Because he highly doubted that making her madder or making her feel some extra unreasonable guilt would do any good. So he settled for just ignoring her repeated plea.

"Of course you are, Ziva." Adding some random, obvious comment like the fact that she was clearly standing in front of him and breathing right now crossed his mind briefly, but he quickly forgot about that again. "You _do_ have em..."

"I know that!" Her exasperated outburst left them both stunned. Closing her eyes, Ziva took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. "I know I do. I never denied... having emotions." She looked away from him, biting her lower lip, and it had been clear to Tony how hard it had been for her to admit to that, despite them both knowing it already. "But according to your description..." She looked him in the eyes for a split second as she trailed off, knowing he'd catch on.

Letting out a sigh she allowed herself to ease down onto the edge of her bed, and even though it was obvious to Tony how clearly exhausted she was, her body remained tense despite the resignation she was suddenly letting show. Taking her change in demeanor as his chance to actually get her to open up to him, he carefully sat down on the bed next to her, although making sure not to be too close, hoping it would make him seem less _threatening_ to her.

"I meant what I said, Tony. It doesn't mean anything, it _never_ means anything." Her tone was somber, yet strong. Rather than instantly reply with some denial to her statement, Tony took his time to contemplate her words. He wanted to tell her she was crazy, that he refused to believe it, but something stopped him. In some twisted way it made sense. He'd never thought about it like that before, but it would explain why she hadn't seemed bothered at all by their undercover mission so many years ago, wouldn't have cared whether they had faked it or actually had slept together to sell their cover. It would explain why she could talk about how she slept with people for information without it seeming to affect her at all, as if it was just as normal as greeting the people in your apartment building"

"I believe you, Ziva." As much as he was trying to buy some time while trying to think of a way to continue their conversation without her putting her walls back up, he also wanted to make sure she knew she could trust him, that he wouldn't doubt everything she said. "I just... It's hard to understand." He couldn't expect her to be honest with him if he wasn't honest himself. And he knew he wasn't really one to talk. He was known for all his one night stands and sleeping around, but still, he couldn't imagine not feeling anything at all, even during those nights with girls he knew he was never going to see or talk to again.

Ziva shrugged her shoulders and kept staring into the dark room. "Just one of my father's many lessons." He shouldn't be surprised, he really shouldn't, he knew what a sick bastard her father was. But still. Tony found that it was all of a sudden extremely hard to keep calm and not punch a wall or start cursing at a person who was currently on the other side of the globe. Obviously sensing his internal turmoil, Ziva looked at him out of the corner of her eyes before sending him a small and easy smile which visibly told Tony that she felt none of anger or disbelieve towards her father that her partner did.

"Do not let it make you angry, Tony. It is one of the things I can thank him for." She seemed absolutely genuine, and that was the part that made Tony's heart ache for her even more.

"...What?" Despite trying really hard not to, Tony was unable to conceal his confusion. Luckily, Ziva's reply was a short but amused chuckle, accompanied by the shaking of her head.

"The female body is nothing more than a weapon, Tony. The most powerful and effective one if used properly." Her words felt like a physical punch to Tony's gut, and so did the plain, objective tone she said them with, as if she was explaining something very simple to a little kid.

"Well yeah, no kidding! It hasn't been used as a torture technique for centuries for nothing!" He was furious, and wasn't bothering trying to hide it. Ziva just rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath as she ignored his outburst.

"As I was saying," She sent him a pointed look and getting the hint he shut up, knowing what a rare occurrence it was for her to open up to him like this. "If any woman knows how to properly use her body, there is not much which cannot be obtained, whether it's information, manipulation, seduction; anything, really." Tony hated the simple, impersonal way she described the many uses of the female body, of _her_ body, but he couldn't deny her statement. He knew exactly how true it was, how easily he and any other man could be reduced to thinking with other parts of their bodies than their brains.

He had just never considered it the way Ziva just described it.

"That's sick!" His partner shrugged her shoulders once more, seeming completely indifferent about it. He couldn't blame her, though, couldn't get mad at her because of it. It wasn't exactly her fault that her father started beating all emotions and feelings out of her before she was ever allowed to develop any.

"You _did_ have a point before, though." She looked at him briefly, and that was enough for him to know exactly what he was referring to. "As useful as a weapon it is, it can be just as effective when used used against you..." Tony opened his mouth, ready to share his opinion, but the hard stare she sent him along with the hand she held up stopped him. "But _only_ if you allow it to." The look in her eyes made him swallow whatever his reply would have been, and he didn't muster up his courage to talk until she finally turned away from him.

"And when exactly did your dad teach you all of this?" He left out how, despite what she might think, it wasn't just purely logical thinking.

"When I was six." Her reply was instant, and while he knew that she wasn't making it up, the spark in her eyes and the tiny smirk on her lips told him just how amusing she though his reaction to her words would be.

"When you were _six_?" He sounded completely stunned, and Ziva managed to let out a small chuckle as he got up and started pacing next to the bed.

"Just the basics, Tony, like what I just told you." He stopped pacing to look at her. Did she really think that that was the basics? He was pretty sure he was still completely clueless at that age. "It is not like he made me actually sleep with anyone." Her voice was filled with a humor that Tony was unable to find in their current subject.

"Cause that didn't happen till you were 13." It wasn't really a statement, not a question either, just his way of trying to keep the mood as light as possible. He hadn't actually considered it a possibility, but when the small grin on her face fell slightly to give way to a somewhat haunted look in her eyes, however brief it was, he wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe it wasn't completely far fetched.

"So what made last night any different?" He forced himself to sit back down, wanting to get as far away from what had just been hinted at as he could. He really couldn't deal with that on top of everything else he was learning about his partner right now.

Ziva shrugged, her shoulders slumping along with normally unusual straight back, and in that moment she once again just looked so incredibly exhausted.

"I do not know." She sounded so helpless, and her words proved to Tony that something _had_ been different. "Maybe..." Never looking towards her partner, Ziva took a deep breath, and Tony wasn't sure whether it was because she didn't know what to say or because she didn't like voicing it out loud. "Maybe Somalia really _did_ change me, but..." He knew it had, of course it had, there was _no way_ any person could go through something like that and _not_ be affected, no matter who they were, but Tony could tell from her tone of voice and the way she shook her head just slightly that that wasn't it. At least not entirely.

"But you trusted my father." She whipped her head towards him in surprise, but the look in her eyes didn't mirror his own. _Her_ surprise didn't seem to stem from the fact that he'd spoken up, and there was a flash of something in her eyes that told him he wasn't too far off, and that was what shocked her. He figured out the problem before her.

"Not 'trusted' exactly..." Letting the sentence hang in the air she narrowed her eyes slightly, but didn't look away from her partner, and Tony didn't know if she was planning on finishing it.

"But it's something you expect from the enemy." Ziva gave a curt nod before looking at her feet, but Tony didn't miss the brief look of surprise that once more showed in her eyes at his understanding.

"Hey!" When trying to catch her attention didn't work, he gently placed a hand under her chin and turned her face towards him, not at all surprised that it was completely blank. "Next time I see him, I _will_ punch him for you." An involuntary smile broke out on her face as she shook her head at him.

"I appreciate the offer, Tony, but that is not necessary."

"Really, I wouldn't mind!"

"I know you wouldn't." She surprised him by grabbing his hand and squeezing it, giving him a true, genuine smile. "But it is not worth it." Before he got a chance to reply she'd let go of his hand and was leaving the bedroom.

"Hey, Ziva, what are you doing?"

"Getting you a blanket." Realizing that the now empty doorway wasn't going to cure his confusion, Tony got up and found Ziva going through her linen closet in the hallway. "It's in the middle of the night, Tony. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted." When he still didn't respond she stood back up, handing him the pile of stuff she'd pulled out of the closet.

"You can sleep on the couch. It's pretty comfortable."

"Okay." He didn't know what else to say. Now that she'd brought it up, Tony realized that she wasn't the only one who was tired, and he wasn't about to not take her up on her offer.

"Goodnight, Tony. And thanks." The senior field agent stood froze to his spot as Ziva rose to her toes and placed a quick kiss to his cheek. It was minutes after the door to her bedroom door closed before he was able to shake himself out of his trance and move towards the living room.

He wasn't sure what she'd thanked him for, but it didn't matter, not to him. The fact that he'd been able to make her smile, made her better, even if just a tiny fraction, was enough for a smile to spread on his on lips as he laid down on the couch.

* * *

And then my external hard drive decided to CRASH! With ALL my stuff on it (every picture / video etc from the past 7 or 8 or so years..) - Yes, my ffs were all on a USB stick, but that's also the ONLY thing that survived...

And then of course, I've been busy trying to pack, since I'm moving back to Denmark in 3 days...

That'll give me the PERFECT time to try to write more... on the 11 hour long flight!  
So people, let me know what what you think...cause I won't try to write if no one wants more :)


	4. Chapter 4

I'm SO sorry I haven't updated before now, but life has been absolutely CRAZY! (returning home after a year on another continent, figuring out what I was gonna do with uni and getting all my stuff ready and applying, getting back in shape and getting ready for Nationals in less than 2 months - yeah, they were last weekend, so now we're just training even harder for the European championships, since we qualified...)

Plus I'd hit a maaaajor writer's block.. but then today it all sort of just... flew out of me!

So here's the next chapter, kind of short, and haven't read it through after reading it, so there's probably mistake!

ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The strong smell of freshly brewed coffee woke him up hours later. Blinking his eyes open, he didn't need to look at his watch to know just how late it was, if the bright beams of sun making their way through the living room windows were anything to go by.

Sitting up on the couch, Tony lifted his arms over his head and stretched in an attempt of getting rid of the knots that had developed in his back and neck overnight, but the numerous cracks in his spine made him wince.

"Hungry?" His head snapped towards her, and he was unable to prevent a big smile from growing on his lips. She was still in her sweats from the night before, her hair hanging in a loose braid over her shoulder, and with the breakfast tray safely in her arms as she leaned against the doorway, Tony was taken aback at how domestic it all seemed.

"Well when have you ever known me to say no to free food?" He gave her his signature grin, and although she too was smiling, his response earned him a shake of her head as she started walking towards him, not bothering to hide it when she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you should." He placed a hand on his chest, trying hard to look offended.

"That hurt, Ziva!" Smirking, she placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch before taking a seat next to him.

"I am just saying, you never know what kinds of drugs or poison or cleaning products people put in it before offering it to you." The cup of coffee in his hands stalled mid-air, and Tony narrowed his eyes at the woman sitting next to him.

"Are you trying to tell me something here, Ziva?" Before he could stop her she leaned over and took a sip of his coffee before reaching for her own cup of steaming hot tea, and Tony took that as a sign that she wasn't trying to kill him with some undetectable ninja ingredient.

"Just that my fridge and cupboards were surprisingly empty, so you will have to settle for a bagel with cream cheese."

"And you had... that." Making a face he pointed at the offending object on the tray, earning him a stern glare from his partner.

"It's called a _banana_, Tony, and yes, you will eat it. I already had one before you woke up."  
"But..." His whiny voice was cut off as she held up a hand while grabbing one of the bagels with the other.

"No complaining, or I'll take back the coffee."

"Yes, ma'am." Taking a big gulp of his coffee, he put the cup back down on the table and reluctantly picked up the yellow fruit, thoroughly inspecting it before pealing it and taking a bite. Ziva just chuckled as she finished her bagel, watching her partner with amusement.

"See, not so bad, is it?" Tony growled, stuffing the last bit of banana into his mouth, and they quickly finished their late breakfast in silence. But unlike what Tony had expected, perhaps somewhat even dreaded, it wasn't the least bit awkward.

"Thanks, Ziva." He offered her a grateful smile as she rose from the couch, bringing the tray with the used cups and plates with her to the kitchen, and Tony got up to follow her. "Hey, why don't you let me do the dishes?"

"Ha! You, doing dishes?" She spun around to look at him after placing the tray next to the sink. The smirk on her lips and the spark in her eyes told him that their regular banter came completely natural to her, and it relaxed him more than he'd have though to know that she wasn't just trying to act fine, that she was genuinely okay.

Perhaps he had actually done something right that night.

"You know how it is. The ladies love a man who can clean up after himself." The raised eyebrow caused the grin on his face to grow.

"So you do this a lot, yes?" She gestured around the kitchen with her hand, vaguely pointing towards the dirty plates. "Offer the _young_ _ladies_ you meet so take them home... so you can do their dishes." Tony opened his mouth, about to retort, but she beat him to it with a look of pure wonder and curiosity on her face. "Do they have to pay you for that? Or is it a free service?"

"You're sick, David!" That earned him a chuckle from Ziva, who pushed herself away from the counter to come stand right in front him, where she gave him a sweet smile and patted his cheek.

"But you love it." She winked at him, and before he could move from his spot she had left the kitchen.

"What about the dishes?" He hadn't even said it very loud, but it shouldn't have surprised him that she'd heard it all the way from her room.

"You can do those while I get changed, since you enjoy it so much!" He groaned, instantly hearing the amusement in her voice.

"Crazy ninja chick."

"I heard that!" Turning on the tap he shook his head and ignored her words, refusing to dwell on _how_ she was able to hear something he'd barely even murmured loud enough for himself to hear.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gibbs had known as soon as he heard the heavy footsteps from upstairs that they didn't belong to any of his regular visitors, and even now, as they slowly descended down the basement stairs, he didn't have to turn around to see who it was.

"Agent Gibbs, I would have expected a warmer welcome-"

"Well you're _not welcome_ in my house!" Finally spinning around to face the intruder, Gibbs was met with a just slightly stunned facial expression that didn't manage to remove that ever present grin.

"I really do not see what the big deal is." He held his arms out to the sides as a way to emphasize his statement, while he walked closer to Gibbs. "First Junior, and now you too?" The disbelieve was clear in his voice as he gently shook his head from side to side. "I mean, the mission was successful, you got your killer. So shouldn't you be congratulating me instead?"

The last word had barely left Anthony DiNozzo Sr.'s mouth before he staggered backwards from he force of the NCIS agent's fist, just barely managing to regain his balance before falling onto the floor. Pressing a hand to his nose in an attempt to stop the flow of blood, the ever present smug smile finally disappeared from his face and was replaced by a horrified look, as he stared speechless at the marine in front of him.

"That was for your son." The sound and feel of a bone breaking had been so satisfying that Gibbs didn't even register the dull ache in the now red knuckles of his right hand.

"What are you talking about?" It had taken a while for DiNozzo Sr. to respond, obviously still quite stunned. "Junior would never hit me!" Gibbs simply raised an eyebrow, amazed once more at how a clueless man like DiNozzo Sr. could have fathered a son like Tony.

"You're right, he wouldn't have." He turned his back to the other man, returning to the roof he was building for the doll house he was making Amira for her birthday. But that didn't mean he was going to let DiNozzo Sr. bask in the knowledge that he was right about something. "Because Ziva specifically asked him _not_ to." He had just gotten off the phone with a distraught Tony not too long before his father decided to show up uninvited in Gibbs' basement. And while he had tried desperately not to share any specifics about what they'd talked about, he'd said enough for Gibbs to imagine what must have been going through both of his agents' heads the night before.

Tony, however, _had_ commented on how Ziva didn't want him to do anything to his father, but Gibbs decided that that demand had only been directed at her partner, and not her boss. And he was more than happy to take on the responsibility of doing what they all wanted to do.

"I could have you arrested for this, you know? His voice was slightly raspy from the obviously broken nose. A small chuckle escaped the team leader's throat, but not even the somewhat threatening way his visitor showed the question at him was enough to make him turn away from his project.

"Yeah? Good luck with that."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Letting out a sigh, Gibbs put down the sander, but still refrained from turning around.

"It means that if Director Vance hears about this, all he'll do is envy me for not having to behave myself do to politics." The silence that followed was enough for a smile to tug at Gibbs' lips, since he knew it meant that DiNozzo Sr. was trying to make sense of his statement.

"Oh come on, Agent Gibbs. You can't seriously all hate me that much!" This did make Gibbs turn around, and with a raised eyebrow. Not even the fact the the older DiNozzo was still holding a hand to his bloodied nose was enough to lighten the tense mood or amuse the the NCIS agent.

"Are you really this clueless, or are you just that much of an attention seeker?"

"Look, I don't know what-"

"This isn't about _you_, Mr. DiNozzo. It never was!" Gibbs had rapidly moved towards the older male, and within two brisk steps he was invading the personal space of his afternoon visitor, rage burning in his eyes. "Personally I couldn't care less about how self centered you are or how clueless you are. I don't give a damn about how many contact you have or how much money and how many girls you're able to charm your way to. Cause you hurt two of my agents the other night!" His voice had risen more with each word that left his mouth, and it was obvious that his famous Gibbs glare had an extra deadly edge to it today, if the look in Anthony DiNozzo Sr.'s wide eyes was anything to go by.

"Okay, I admit," Arms held up in surrender, the older one of the two men took a step backwards. "So maybe I kinda crossed the line a little bit with Ziva, but I still don't see how I hurt her." Gibbs just stayed silent while glaring at him, so DiNozzo Sr. continued. "And I haven't even had anything to do with any of your other agents, Gibbs, so how could I-"

"You hurt you _son_!" He had been frustrated enough with the other man to yell, so he allowed himself to take a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down before he continued talking. "And you should be damn happy that Ziva ordered hm not to hurt you, cause I can assure you that he would have punched you much harder than I did!" If not the morning the mission ended, after seeing everything go down on the big screen in MTAC the evening before, then definitely after the night he'd just spent with Ziva and everything that had been shared between the two partners.

Tony had after all called Gibbs as soon as Ziva had left for her run, because he didn't know how to feel or what to do with everything she had revealed to him. And because he needed to yell and rant about how fucking unfair Ziva's whole life had been, and that wasn't exactly something he could do with _her_.

"Speaking of Junior, do you know where I can find him?" Gibbs instantly recognized that he was attempting to change the subject, trying not to seem afraid of him, or at least stunned. "He wasn't at his apartment earlier, and he hasn't been answering any of my calls." Not bothering to point out how the man was ignoring everything he'd been saying, he shook his head in defeat of ever getting through to him. And there was no way he was going to tell him that his son was most certainly still hanging out at Ziva's place, with or without her blessing.

"Mr. DiNozzo, I highly suggest that you get your bags and return to New York, _without_ trying to contact Tony again." He allowed a few seconds for the words to sink in, and when the other man opened his mouth to deliver a protest, he calmly continued, his voice sharp and icy. "And for your own safety, I'd advice that you don't _ever_ go near Ziva again!" He threw his head towards the stairs as a signal that their conversation was over and that he expected the older man to find his own way out, before turning back to his current wooden project.

It took longer than he had expected before he sensed DiNozzo Sr. turn around to retreat up the stairs. When the footsteps faltered half way up, Gibbs knew he was about to say something, but the marine didn't let him.

"And I would get that nose checked out if I were you. Looked kind of crooked." Happy that the older man couldn't see him, Gibbs allowed a smirk to form on his lips when he felt and heard him continue defeatedly up the basement stairs.

* * *

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